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Dick Black, right, grandfather of West Atlantic City resident Rich Black, was a member of the ‘Owl Squad,’ a vice unit on the Atlantic City Police Department that used to hunt rum-runners during the Prohibition era.

Staff photo by Vernon Ogrodnek

Rich Black owns a collection of photos and memorabilia from his grandfather’s days on the police force. ‘My grandfather ... would tell me amazing stories.’

Staff photo by Vernon Ogrodnek

A beer mug given to Dick Black by Chicago gangster Buggs Moran reads ‘To Dick, Let us drink when we meet and meet when we drink. From Buggs.’

West Atlantic City man’s grandfather busted rum-runners, was friends with Nucky Johnson

Dick Black, right, grandfather of West Atlantic City resident Rich Black, was a member of the ‘Owl Squad,’ a vice unit on the Atlantic City Police Department that used to hunt rum-runners during the Prohibition era.

Staff photo by Vernon Ogrodnek

Rich Black owns a collection of photos and memorabilia from his grandfather’s days on the police force. ‘My grandfather ... would tell me amazing stories.’

Staff photo by Vernon Ogrodnek

A beer mug given to Dick Black by Chicago gangster Buggs Moran reads ‘To Dick, Let us drink when we meet and meet when we drink. From Buggs.’

When “Boardwalk Empire” debuts at 9 tonight on HBO, many
southern New Jersey residents with premium cable subscriptions will
be watching because of the show’s Atlantic City roots. Rich
Black, however, will be watching particularly closely.

Black’s grandfather, Dick Black, was a close
friend of Atlantic City political boss Enoch “Nucky”
Johnson, whose name was changed to Nucky
Thompson for the series. Black was a member of the elite
“Owl Squad,” a group of Atlantic City policemen who performed
vice-squad duties, such as rum-running raids.

Black, 50, of the West Atlantic City section of Egg Harbor
Township, said his grandfather was a Vaudeville performer who
returned to his hometown of Atlantic City after his act was
unsuccessful. Dick Black’s cousin was former Atlantic City Mayor
Howard Bacharach, who hired him as a police
officer.

“My grandfather’s original name was Bacharach, but to avoid
nepotism, he kept his Vaudeville name, Dick Black,” Rich Black
said. “It was all about politics and who you knew. It was just
easier to change his name.”

The Owl Squad was known as the toughest group in the Police
Department. Black remembers his grandfather saying that the squad
was so tough, people were afraid to commit crimes.

“My grandfather — who was one tough guy in his day — would tell
me amazing stories,” Black said. “At that time, he had made a lot
of friends in Vaudeville, and they all ended up coming here, of
course. He was very close with legendary singer Rudy
Vallee and Broadway producer George
White.”

The most interesting stories were about the rum-running raids.
Black’s grandfather used to tell him that the Owl Squad would take
high-speed boats in the middle of the night and raid waterfront
homes that had boat slips underneath them.

“The houses would have hatches right above where the boats would
pull in and dock,” Black said. “They would lift the liquor right
into the house.”

Black’s grandfather left him some memorabilia, including
historic photos. His most prized possession is a pewter beer
pitcher given to his grandfather by Chicago gangster and Al
Capone nemesis Buggs Moran, inscribed “To
Dick, Let us drink when we meet and meet when we drink. From
Buggs.”

“There was a big mob convention in the city, and Buggs sent it
to my grandfather for helping to keep the peace,” Black said. “My
grandfather ran the vice squad during the convention. I was offered
$10,000 for it, but I will never sell it.”

As for Nucky, Black said he and his grandfather, as well as his
late father, Al Black, were friends.

“I know there was a lot of corruption back then, but I don’t
think my grandfather was like that,” Black said. “I just know my
grandfather liked him a lot. He used to tell me that Atlantic City
was the greatest place on earth at the time. There was nothing like
it.”

Everyone Has a Story appears Sundays, Mondays and
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